FOCUS - CANNE: S'pore leads charge for Asian creativity at Cannes Lions awards

Asian creativity is fast gaining in prominence on the world stage, after the region collected a total of 17 Lions at the 2000 Cannes Lions awards, almost double the number won last year. But it was Singapore which once again led the charge, romping home with eight Lions, compared with just four in 1999. Japan trailed a distant second with two Lions, followed by Thailand, Hong Kong and India. Singapore's dominance was also reflected in the MEDIA-organised Asian Advertising Awards 1999, at which the island republic won a total of 35 awards, including the 'Best of the Best' prize. Thailand and Hong Kong held second and third places respectively. Regional creative directors said that Singapore's dominance stemmed from the fact that the Lion City was a melting pot of different cultures, which lent itself to producing advertising with an international flavour. BBDO Hong Kong joint executive creative director Paul Chan said, "There are a lot of good ideas and concepts being generated out of Hong Kong. "But the problem is that it is driven by local culture and language, which international judges have difficulty understanding or even appreciating." Ogilvy & Mather regional creative director Tham Khai Meng said one of Singapore's biggest advantages was that "there is an openness in accepting expatriate talent - either from elsewhere in Asia or from the West - and this has rubbed off on us in that our advertising is not as parochial as in Hong Kong". Saatchi & Saatchi regional creative director Craig Davis said the bigger haul of awards from Cannes this year was the result of Asia-Pacific's economic recovery. "With the pick-up in the economy, advertising budgets increase and there is a pick-up in confidence. "This confidence results in braver creative work being produced, which, more often than not, stands out," he said. Meanwhile, Ogilvy & Mather emerged as the top agency in Asia-Pacific. It scooped five Lions, including two golds. O&M subsidiary Results in Bangkok struck gold in the print category for a Tobasco sauce ad for client Sino Pacific Trading Thailand. O&M's other gold was awarded for its Scrabble television commercials for Mattel, entitled 'Syphilis' and 'Sodomised'. Second-placed Dentsu garnered two awards, including one gold for a print ad promoting Japan Lighting Design. 2000 CANNES LIONS (By Country) Total No. Gold Silver Bronze Total No. Total No. Country of Entries Lions Lions Lions of Lions Short Listed Singapore 385 (185) 1 1 6 8 (4) 41 (23) Japan 466 (488) 1 1 0 2 (0) 8 (1) Thailand 111 (109) 1 0 1 2 (3) 10 (16) Hong Kong 110 (131) 0 1 0 1 (1) 9 (4) India 245 (171) 0 0 2 2 (1) 10 (6) China 33 (41) 0 0 1 1 (0) 1 (0) Malaysia 49 (33) 0 0 1 1 (0) 6 (2) Philippines 71 (61) 0 0 0 0 (0) 4 (0) Vietnam 10 (7) 0 0 0 0 (0) 1 (1) Taiwan 37 (45) 0 0 0 (0) 0 (1) Korea 136 (74) 0 0 0 (0) 0 (0) Indonesia 3 (1) 0 0 0 (0) 0 (0) Total 1,656 (1,346) 3 3 11 17 (9) 90 (54) No. 1999 figures in brackets 2000 CANNES LIONS (By Agency) Agency Gold Silver Bronze Total Ogilvy & Mather 2* 1 2 5 Dentsu 1 1 0 2 TBWA 0 1 0 1 Saatchi & Saatchi 0 0 3 3 Leo Burnett 0 0 3 3 Grey 0 0 2 2 Bates 0 0 1 1 Total 3 3 11 17 *Including Results Bangkok. ASIAN ADVERTISING AWARDS 1999 Country Best Certificate Craft Total Singapore 5 (5) 21 (17) 9 (14) 35 (36) Thailand 5 (3) 15 (17) 0 (0) 20 (20) Hong Kong 5 (1) 14 (7) 6 (7) 25 (15) Japan 2 (2) 3 (1) 0 (0) 5 (3) Malaysia 1 (1) 5 (2) 0 (0) 6 (3) China 0 (0) 3 (0) 0 (0) 3 (0) Philippines 0 (1) 1 (1) 0 (0) 1 (2) Taiwan 0 (0) 0 (1) 0 (0) 0 (1) Total 18 (13) 62 (46) 15 (21) 95 (80) > *Excludes Best of the Best no. 1998 figures in brackets.

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